Happenstance
by CitrineMama
Summary: Sometimes, your past is standing right in front of you...


The bell above the glass door jingled as a man moved inside the nearly empty diner, his sparkling green eyes moving around the place with some sense of nostalgia before a friendly voice interrupted his daydream. "Good morning. Would you like a booth or a seat at the bar?"

His eyes found hers and she was an attractive brunette in her early to mid twenties smiling up at him. "Bar would be great. Just me."

"Coffee?" She moved around the counter top and she laid a menu on the faded blue formica. His eyes flicked up to hers for a moment.

"Please. Thank you, Miranda." He'd noticed her name tag when she'd greeted him a moment before. The brunette moved away for a moment while his eyes poured over the menu. A white mug of coffee was placed in front of him and Miranda spoke again.

"You decide?"

He closed the menu and smiled up at her, faltering a bit when he noticed her eyes. They were a darker shade of green and flecks of hazel sparkled in the sunlight. There was a bit of puffiness and she blushed a bit under his inquisitive gaze. "Uh, yeah. Pig and a poke." She nodded and reached for the menu.

"I'll put that right in." He gave her a small smile and she moved to the computer. Beside him a seat over, an older gentleman rose and pulled out a faded leather wallet. He watched as the gentleman pulled a ten out and tossed it next to his empty plate.

"Miranda, i'll see you next Sunday." His voice was shaky and she looked up with a huge smile despite the tears she was trying to hold back.

"You take care, Mr. Edwards." She moved away from putting in his order to reach down out of their view to pull up a plastic container housing a piece of apple pie. He smiled at her and she pushed it across the counter towards him. "Make sure that wife of yours has this for lunch."

"Will do." He put on his hat and noticed the younger man watching the exchange. Shooting him a friendly smile, the old man nodded as he moved by, the bell above the door jingling softly as he left.

His attention was back on the waitress. She finished punching in the order and she spoke softly. "His wife's in hospice... used the come here way back in the day when my mom worked here."

"I'm sorry." He meant that and turned his coffee mug a bit before taking a careful sip. "You alright?"

Miranda placed his plate and mug in the dishpan to her right and paused, wet rag in hand. She pocketed the ten dollar tip before wiping down the counter where the longtime customer had been sitting. "Yeah." He waited. "No."

There was a silence there and he spoke softly. "You lost someone." _Damn, he knew that look all too well._

Her eyes snapped to his, almost angry a stranger could read her so well. Her jaw worked a bit and she relaxed some. "My mom died last month."

His eyes closed for a moment, the crows feet making his expression pained. "I'm so sorry. Was she sick?"

"Car accident." He nodded. "She was my whole world."

"No siblings?" A weight settled in his own gut; he was passing through the town on his way to meet his brother for a long overdue vacation and the thought of life without him still shook him to his core.

"Just me."

"Where's your dad?" _Damn,_ _he was gettin' nosey._ The cook rung the bell in the window behind her and his plate was placed in the space under the tag. Miranda turned to grab his plate and moved to set it in front of him.

His eyes flicked to hers again as he picked up his fork and knife. "I'm being nosey. I'm sorry." _Damn, how many times was he gonna tell some kid he was sorry today?_

A sad little half smile adorned her features and she poured herself a mug of coffee and sat down. "Wish I knew." His brow wrinkled the slightest bit. He turned his attention to the food and cut a sausage link n half and shoved the bite in his mouth. Miranda sat on the lower counter behind the one he was eating off of and watched him chew. "Mom was kinda wild in her younger years..."

He smiled a little at her admission. "Yeah, we've all been there..." He took another bite of his food, waiting for her to continue.

"She knew who he was though." Her tone was wistful. "She was a waitress here and he passed through one weekend." The food suddenly stuck in his throat and he coughed. She slid off the counter and filled a cup with water. He gulped it down and took a couple deep breaths."You alright?'

"Yeah." He closed his eyes for a moment and collected himself. "Yeah sorry." There was that apology again. "You were saying?"

Miranda sipped her coffee behind the counter. Her eyes moved over him and she could see what a good looking guy he'd been in his younger years because even at what she thought was his late forties, he was still attractive. "My mom hooked up with him and found out she was pregnant with me a month or so later. Only guy she slept with that fall. I came the following May." Pause. "Been looking for him ever since."

"No luck?" His fried potatoes tasted bland now and he dared a look up at her.

Miranda shrugged. "She only knew his first name."

He nodded and took another gulp of his rapidly cooling coffee. She watched him down the rest of his food and wipe his mouth. His green eyes found hers again and he held her gaze for several seconds. "I like your necklace." Her fingers immediately went to the antique key and she fingered it absently. "Back in the day, people used to put the coordinates of their hometown on them."

A faint smile graced her lips. "That's what my mom did." She sounded suspicious all of a sudden.

He got up from the stool and drank the rest of his coffee. She cleared his near empty plate and mug and watched him pull out some cash. "Thanks for the conversation." His eyes moved to hers as he handed Miranda some cash. "Your mom would be proud of you." That struck her and she nodded sadly.

The impala's engine made both their heads turn towards the window and Sam pulled up to a spot in the front. Dean gave him a wave and when he looked at Miranda, something in her expression changed when she saw the sleek black car and everything suddenly clicked. He shoved his wallet in his back pocket and took several steps to the glass doors, his hand on the metal handle when Miranda spoke softly.

"Dean."

It wasn't a question and he froze. He closed his eyes for what felt like was the longest three seconds of his life. She walked around the counter and stood behind him, waiting for a reaction.

When the man in front of her turned around, she saw the freckles dusted across his cheeks and the brown hair, a few strands of gray shining in the morning sunlight and his eyes... the same expressive green eyes that so many people commented on her whole entire life.

 _"I get them from my dad," She'd always joked._

"Your mom.." He spoke carefully. Miranda was holding onto her necklace again and he flashed back to the night they'd shared and that necklace was all she'd wound up wearing. "Jolene was your _mom?"_

A fat tear slid down her cheek and she covered her mouth with her hand.

Outside, Sam saw his brother move back to the young girl and wrap his arms around her shoulders in a hug. He frowned until they parted a moment later and the waitress wiped her eyes. Dean turned a bit, his hand still on her upper arm before waving Sam inside, a smile on his face.

Sam shut off the engine and came inside the diner, the bell above him jingling lightly. "Dean?"

"Miranda, I'd like ya to meet your uncle Sam..."

spnspnspnspn

Thanks for stopping by! Please review!

Citrinemama


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